Jillian Horton, BA, MA, MD, FRCPC (Internal Medicine)
Director
Our goals
Our programs enhance creative self-expression, critical thinking and analysis, empathy and compassion, narrative competence, deep listening, and clinical observation and reasoning skills.
We have two primary goals:
- to enhance our understanding of patient experiences around health, illness, and disability
- to support the well-being of health professionals and students
Our namesake
The Alan Klass Program in Health and Humanities honours of the late surgeon and UM faculty member Alan Klass [BA/27, MD/32, LLD/73]. The program recognizes and honours Dr. Klass for championing social justice and advocacy work in medicine.
Our programming
Peterkin Prize in Medical Humanities
Every year, the Max Rady College of Medicine celebrates artists in our medical student community with the Peterkin Prize in Medical Humanities. Named for three distinguished alumni—Edith Peterkin (MD/46), David Peterkin (MD/56) and Allan Peterkin (MD/85), all champions of the arts—this $1000 prize invites medical students to explore the important links between creative pursuits, personal well-being, and the practice of medicine.
Submissions will demonstrate the ways that arts and humanities inform medical practice, and how creative endeavours can fuel a physician’s medical practice and support their personal well-being and renewal.
Prize: $1,000
Eligibility
The contest is open to undergraduate students in the Max Rady College of Medicine. Submissions by groups of students are also acceptable; the prize and recognition will be shared among the winning group members.
Overview
Each submission will consist of an original artwork and an accompanying narrative, along with a photo, brief bio, and photo consent form.
All forms of artistic expression are welcome. Options include, but are not limited to:
- visual art (painting, drawing, digital art, sculpture, beading, textile art)
- lens-based art (photography, film, video)
- writing (short fiction, creative non-fiction, graphic novels, poetry, drama)
- music (composition, electronica, song-writing, performance)
- performance-based art (dance, theatre, spoken word, performance art)
The accompanying narrative must demonstrate the connections between the specific work and the student’s development as a medical practitioner, as well as the way the work fosters creative thinking and self-reflection.
Submissions will be assessed on the basis of originality, creativity, and a compelling description of the interface between creative work and a deepening understanding of the demands of medical practice.
Submission guidelines
Submit a digital copy of your creative piece in the format that best suits the work (e.g., a video file, photo, audio file, doc file or PDF).
Submit a written narrative (max 500 words) which demonstrates the connections between your art work and your growth as a medical practitioner; it should also illustrate the way your art fosters creative thinking and self-reflection.
Both components must be your original work, and not have been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work.
Submit a brief bio (100 words max), along with your name and email address. (Consider using your personal email if your student email is likely to expire before the fall.)
Submit a high-resolution photo of yourself; the file name should include your name and photo credit.
Submit the University of Manitoba’s photo consent and waiver allowing your photo to be used for Peterkin Prize promotional purposes.
Note: if any individual in your submission is identifiable (or may self-identify) by name, likeness, image, voice, or picture, you must submit a signed consent waiver from them as well. Consent is not required for images taken in a public place where there is no expectation of privacy and in which individuals are part of the background.
Your full submission must include
- Creative piece
- Narrative piece (500 words)
- Bio (100) and personal contact info
- High-res photo with photo credit
- Photo consent form for yourself
- Photo consent form for anyone identifiable in your work (as needed)
Only your creative piece and narrative are shared with the jury; please do not include any personal identification on those components.
2026 submission information
- Submission opening: March 15, 2026
- Submission deadline: May 15, 2026
Submission links
Med 4 submissions
Decision and notification: Fall 2026
For additional information, please contact Charlene Diehl.
The Peterkin family
The Peterkin Prize in Medical Humanities celebrates the legacy of the Peterkin family and their connection to the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine. Edith Peterkin (MD/46) was one of four women in her medical class and pursued a lifelong interest in philosophy, bioethics and theology. David Peterkin (MD/56) played cello and clarinet and was a President of the Canadian Mahler Society. Allan Peterkin (MD/85) is an international leader in the health humanities and published author on cultural history, physician wellness and narrative medicine. Each has been a champion of the medical humanities in Canada and a proponent of humanism in medical training and practice.
Our team
Additional information
Dr. Jillian Horton is a general internist who serves in multiple leadership positions at University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine. This includes inaugural director of Rady Faculty of Health Science’s programs in physician and learner wellness, director of the Alan Klass Health Humanities Program and associate chair of the department of internal medicine.
Horton previously served as the associate dean of undergraduate student affairs at the Max Rady College of Medicine.
She has won numerous awards for mentorship, professionalism, and teaching.
She is also an accomplished musician and writer. She published her bestselling memoir We Are All Perfectly Fine in 2021.
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Charlene Diehl, BSc, MA, PhD (English)
Creative Director
Additional information
Dr. Charlene Diehl is a writer, editor, performer, former English professor and long-time arts administrator.
She completed her PhD in English at the University of Manitoba under the mentorship of Robert Kroetsch, taught at the University of Waterloo for most of a decade, then returned to the prairies. In 2003, she became the Artistic Director and then Executive Director of the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, now known as Plume Winnipeg, retiring at the end of 2025. In 2019, she was honoured with the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making a Difference Award for her contributions to the local arts community in that role.
Diehl has published poetry, personal and academic essays, book and music reviews, and a memoir, Out of Grief, Singing: a memoir of motherhood and loss, which was shortlisted for two Manitoba Book Awards. She co-edited a jazz magazine for a dozen years, and is currently the producer of the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances, Winnipeg’s boutique jazz series. Her newest venture as Creative Director of the Alan Klass Program in Health and Humanities at the U of M’s Max Rady College of Medicine, allows her to share her passion for the arts with the extended health care community.
Contact us
Dr. Charlene Diehl, PhD
Creative Director
Alan Klass Program in Health Humanities